Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Villarreal: result and report

Report

Borussia Dortmund beat Villarreal 3-2 in the Champions League, but the margin was tighter than the game deserved. Dortmund made the better chances throughout, though they still needed Serhou Guirassy to settle it late.

How the goals came

Neither side scored until the 53rd minute. A Renato Veiga own goal then put Dortmund ahead.

The lead lasted only 13 minutes because Villarreal hit back on 66 minutes. Santiago Mouriño equalised from Georges Mikautadze's assist, so Dortmund had to go again.

Guirassy restored the lead on 80 minutes, set up by Fábio Silva. Five minutes later he scored a penalty to make it 3-1. That should have been the end of it. Instead, Guirassy put the ball into his own net in the third minute of added time, which made the final score look narrower than the match was.

Borussia Dortmund: the better chances

Dortmund's case rests on chance quality rather than the scoreline. They finished with 2.75 xG to Villarreal's 1.42 and created six big chances to two. They also hit the woodwork once, so the night could easily have brought a bigger winning margin.

The territory figures support that reading. Dortmund had 67 dangerous attacks to Villarreal's 25 and kept up more pressure on average, while possession was close to even. This was a side that got into dangerous areas far more often, not one that simply had more of the ball.

Villarreal: closer than the chances suggest

Villarreal still have a fair point. Shots on target finished level at six each, despite the gap in chance quality. Dortmund also missed four of their six big chances.

That waste is why Villarreal were level until the 80th minute. Their equaliser came from one of only two big chances they created, which shows they made the most of limited openings.